1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a bread slicing appliance that is especially designed for home kitchen use, providing a movable slicing guide that will accommodate variable loaf size, motorized fan aspiration and collection of bread crumb debris, and a geometric arrangement of components that provides a compact storage envelope.
This invention resulted from research to develop and evaluate small scale food processing equipment for use in space applications which involved a wide range of gravity conditions. As a result of the bread crumb debris created during bread slicing a positive method of capture and retention was needed. Particulate contamination in the breathable atmosphere in a space module is a critical crew safety issue. Extending this concept of particulate aspiration and retention to an Earth-based kitchen appliance was a natural progression.
2. Description of Prior Art
Several attempts have been made in the past to produce an efficient bread slicing device with varying degrees of success. The ability to provide adequate support for the bread loaf and guidance of the slicing knife, however, is only part of the task. None of the devices reviewed in the course of this investigation provided any accommodation for acquisition and containment of the debris that is generated in the slicing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 179,934, issued Jul. 18, 1876 to Merwin disclosed a rectangular case with slots in the sides thereby providing support to the loaf and slicing knife guidance. Use of this device required pre-cutting or sizing the loaf to fit the case. Bread at that time was baked in a variety of sizes and shapes.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,822,581 issued to Brown Sep. 8, 1931, provided slicing guides without provision for loaves of varying size. U.S. Pat. No. 1,867,993 issued to Tuttle on Jul. 19, 1932 provided loaf support and knife guidance heretofore embodied in previous inventions and additionally provided some accommodation for loaf variability through flexible side guides fabricated from thin sheet stock. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,398,192 issued to Scheminger on Apr. 9, 1946 slicing guides of similar design to the subject invention were utilized with varying spaces that allowed variable thickness in slices. In addition an end stop was provided to support the completed slice similar to the subject invention. The slicing guides were also pivoted by hinge to allow flat storage, However, with the end stop in place the slicing guides become rigid with no allowance for tilting toward the loaf and thus holding a variable sized loaf in place. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,642 issued to Birmingham on Apr. 25, 1978, loaf variability was accommodated by provision of several grooves in the base plate that permitted alternate positions for the slicing guides. As a result of this adjust ability feature it would appear that little or no lateral holding force could be applied to the loaf during slicing. As an alternative an end position slide was added to hold the loaf in position. More recently in U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,286 issued to Ward, Feb. 25, 1992, a device offered simplified construction and device storage by virtue of a fold down wire bail that doubled as a slicing guide and a carrying handle. This device eliminated all loaf holding capability and true knife guidance. Only one wire guide was provided therefore the slicing knife is only partially guided. Retention of the loaf is left to a hand hold method. Again on May 26, 1992 U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,704 was issued to Hyman for a very similar device wherein slicing guides were inserted in a series of grooves in a base plate, thus allowing for variable loaf size. In this instance no end stop was included so the operator must place the loaf in position by guesswork. Also, no side pressure in clamping the loaf was included since the slicing guides were rigidly held in close fitting slots. One additional feature was added, that being the cavity in the base that serves as a collector of crumbs. This collector depends upon gravity to cause the crumbs to find their way into the collector cavity and made no provision for crumb dynamics in slicing.